At the start of the game, you’ll briefly get a panning shot of Peter Parker‘s small apartment, ending by a shelf near his bed covered in post-it notes.

While most of these concern the state of his rent situation and other tasks – two stick out as fairly interesting. The first mentions “Call T.S. back, re: job offer”. Of all the big Marvel characters, one of the most important figures bears the initials T.S. – Tony Stark. We don’t get to see Tony or Iron Man and the other Avengers during the game, so it’s interesting to think if this “job” is more for Peter, or for Spider-Man.

The other big note here may be just as important – it reads, “RR suit fabric ballistic? Call to confirm”. Again, of all the Marvel characters out there, the most important figure with those initials is none other than Reed Richards, also known as Mr. Fantastic – super scientist and founder of the Fantastic Four, which has rarely intertwined with the rest of the Marvel universe in movies or games. It’s possible that this note may tease the inclusion of the Fantastic Four character in the next game, or hopefully at the very least some more direct references.

You wouldn’t know by looking, but Manhattan appears to have more ties to Liberty City than you might expect.

During the Side-Mission, Spider-Man P.I. you’ll have to help a woman named Carmen, whose husband is meeting some shady characters including someone named Deshaun, and tailing them back to their heist-planning room reveals a map with names that include Niko Evan, Donnie, and Ryan, and soon after you’ll hear that “Roman” is running late.

These are all names of characters from GTA 4. Niko Bellic is the main protagonist along with his cousin Roman, while DeSean is a member of the Uptown Rider gang, and Carmen is a potential love interest, and Evan Moss is another supporting character.

During the mission Back to School, Spider-Man must make his way through a large costume party at the ESU. Along the path, you’ll run into a a man wearing a Spider-Man hood and black pants, but no shirts.

This is a nod to internet personality (and former IGN Editor) Greg Miller, of Kinda Funny Games. Greg has a running gag of taking his shirt off, and appeared at E3 and other events where Spider-Man was shown wearing the spidey hood but no shirt, and Insomniac decided to put him in the game.

Once you unlock the Air Tricks Skills in Spider-Man, you can hold Triangle and Circle and hold the control stick in different directions while falling to perform stunts for extra XP. If you manage to successfully tilt in all four directions, you’ll perform the “Spidey McMarx” trick – this is a reference to Ratchet & Clank (2002)’s Hoverboard races, as tilting in all four directions would earn you the “Twisty McMarx” trick.

In the main mission – First Day – Miles will enter the F.E.A.S.T. center, where he meets a man doing a crossword puzzle with the word “Quark”. Not only a science term, it was also the original name of Captain Qwark in the Ratchet and Clank Series, before changed to the comical misspelling.

Back in May, a fan reached out to Insomniac developers asking if they could somehow find a way to put in an Easter Egg to let him propose to his girlfriend in the game, and the studio was able to work out a plan.

In the game, you can actually find the proposal at an intersection of Canal St and Church St on the West side of the Financial District, where a movie theater marquee displays the words “Maddie, Will You Marry Me?”

Unfortunately, it appears that he was turned down, and the fan has dubbed it “The Saddest Easter Egg”, though Insomniac’s art director has reached out and asked if he wants the Easter Egg patched out.

While in the mission Don’t Touch the Art, you’ll be able to play as MJ for a time and inspect lots of art on display at Wilson Fisk’s gallery, and a few noteworthy items stand out.

A box of cigars are on display and MJ will note they are from Symkaria. Symkaria is a fictional european country in the Marvel universe, and its also the homeland of Silver Sable – which could be seen as a foreshadowing to her arrival with her mercenary group.

Near the back of the gallery, facing the stage with the podium, you can inspect a display with a large diamond-tipped cane. This is the Kingpin‘s iconic cane, and he’s been known to hide several items inside it in the comics.

At the start of the game, you’ll briefly see a few easter eggs – one of which is the poster for the wrestling match Peter Parker took part in before he was officially Spider-Man, and you can craft this same Wrestling Suit later in the game.

Later in the game, Peter will have some of his stuff moved to the lab he works at, and you can view the Daily Bugle covers of the villains he’s taken down for more info on them.

While the iconic suit doesn’t appear in the game, there may be a few references to it. During the mission Keeping the Peace, Captain Yuri Watanabe jokes and ask if Spider-Man has a black-and-white suit for the Policeman’s Ball.

You can also sometimes find randomized rooms when looking into windows, and one type of room has a desk with several action figures – and one appears to look like the original Symbiote Suit from the Secret War series.

Many of the Landmarks you can take pictures of have a lot to do with the Marvel universe:

The Avengers Tower is probably the most iconic – but there are also a few clues as to why the Avengers don’t appear in the game. When taking a picture, Spidey remarks that they’ve all gone to the West Coast or something – which may be a reference to the comic series “West Coast Avengers” when they moved their headquarters.

Spidey also mentions when on a pigeon-catching mission that the Avengers probably never have to do this – implying that he has yet to meet the team or has not yet become an Avenger himself.

Down in Greenwich, you can find a building with a large red window on the top – this is the Sanctum Santorum, and home of Doctor Strange, the Sorcerer Supreme.

You can also find the landmarks of several of Marvel’s Defenders who also live in Manhattan. In Hell’s Kitchen, you can find Fogwell’s Gym, where Matt Murdock’s father trained to become a boxer.

You can also find Alias Investigations, which is the private detective agency run by Jessica Jones. Also in Hell’s Kitchen is Josie’s Bar – a regular hangout for Matt Murdock and his friend Foggy Nelson.

Over in Midtown, you can find the Rand Corporation, which is owned by Danny Rand, also known as The Iron Fist.

And while it may not show up in the game, during the Side Mission, Spider-Men, the fake Spider-Man you team up with mentions training at Chikara Dojo – a martial arts studio owned by Danny Rand, and managed by Colleen Wing.

Meanwhile, in Harlem you can find The Bar With No Name, which is a known hangout for several villains. Finally, over in the Financial District is Damage Control HQ, a clean-up crew known for tidying up the mess caused by superheroes and their battles.

Much like the Landmarks, there are also smaller hidden iconic areas that don’t show up on the map – but many of these also reference the Marvel Comics.

Down in the Financial District, the iconic Wall Street Bull Statue has been replaced by a dog. This dog is none other than Lockjaw, one of the Inhumans, and he has the power of teleportation.

Over in Hell’s Kitchen, not far from the Josie’s Bar landmark, you can find the law office of Matt Murdock and Foggy Nelson – Mr. Murdock being the superhero Daredevil.

There is also street art of three of the Sinister Six hidden around Manhattan. Chinatown boasts both murals of The Rhino and The Scorpion, while The Vulture has some street are over in Hell’s Kitchen.

Perhaps the most notable of all secret photo ops is in the far North of Harlem in the cemetery, where you can find Ben Parker’s grave. Not only is it a secret Photo Op, but you can also interact with it to gain a Trophy!

In the F.E.A.S.T. center, there’s a job board you can inspect on the second floor that mentions a veteran’s job fair. Peter mentions that his former classmate – Eugene “Flash” Thompson, is running the fair.

Looking at your social media feed, you might catch a glimpse of daily bugle reports by Ben Ulrich, a notable character in the comments.

When you meet Dr. Morgan Michaels in the story, his character page mentions its hard to find info on him, and that he might be Greek with an Americanized name. This is a reference to the Marvel character Michael Morbius, aka Morbius the Living Vampire, who was a biochemist until a failed experiment turned him into a villain and then brooding anti-hero.

Before the game was released, the Freedom Tower was based on the real life design, but when the game was released, it was changed to original Libeskind 2002 design. Video compares the two different designs from the same location camera view:

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